As a Toronto's realtor I travel a lot through Toronto every day and sometimes I can see people wearing these face or surgeon masks. Can they really protect us? Thankfully, the swine flu isn't spread that badly so far - at the moment there's less then 9,000 patients, of which 36 ended sadly. In Ontario it is 3,464 cases with 12 related deaths. So the question is why is the WHO so concerned with this type of influenza when many more people die each year from the basic type?

The basic flu causes biggest trouble to very small babies, the elderly and simply to those sick already. On the other hand, the swine influenza we are experiencing has proved to be dangerous to mainly healthy young people. Also the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic sets an example which the WHO is trying avoid repeating. Because of all that, WHO recommends to use a face or surgeon mask in order to protect ourselves.

A side comment - if you heard of the 2 Saskatchewan farmers getting sick with a new type of swine flu, don't worry. The farmers only suffered from very mild flu and the officials do not think this new influenza will spread.

The reasons for using the facemask

Flu is a disease attacking especially the lungs (respiratory disease). There are generally two ways to catch the flu - either by inhaling the virus when somebody who suffers from it sneezes or coughs or by touching the face with a contaminated hand. The problem with influenza is that you are contagious one day before you get any flu symptoms and up to seven days after the first symptoms occurred. So before you knew you fell ill, you might have infected other people at home, work or school or wherever you were, since you didn't feel ill.

The face mask or surgeon mask is supposed to created the last layer between you and your surroundings. The normal face mask doesn’t prove to be too effective in filtering what you breath in, so it might not save you from the virus in the air. But the mask proved quite effective in blocking the virus when you breath out, sneeze or cough, so it makes more sense to wear it when you are sick so that you don't spread it more. Considering the fact that people might be spreading the dangerous virus while still feeling OK, it might be helpful to wear the mast even before one gets sick.

The N95 respirators & elementary advice

If you are thinking of wearing the facemask to protect yourself from possible inhalation of the virus caused by somebody who's infected accidentally sneezing or coughing near you, you should consider switching from the basic face or surgeon mask to the N95 respirator. N95 stands for at least 95% of filtration of dangerous elements from the air.

But no mask will ever save you on its own if you don't follow some basic hygiene processes. Not forgetting to often wash your hands using soap or alcohol sanitizer is elementary. Another rule is to block your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing it away straight after. Also don't go out if you feel sick and avoid crowded places if possible.